OCP Group SA, Casablanca, reported that it has committed to reserve over 4 million mt of fertilizers for African farmers in 2023 to help strengthen the continent’s food security.
The reserved volume represents more than a quarter of the Moroccan phosphate group’s expected total output next year and double the volume it supplied to Africa in 2021, the group said in an Oct. 12 statement.
OCP Group Chairman and CEO Mostafa Terrab made the announcement at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Washington, DC, that took place Oct. 10-16.
“The current geopolitical situation reveals deeper systemic fragilities in global agricultural systems,” said Terrab. “We have to address the challenges facing African farmers, from infrastructure to knowledge to market access to financing.”
The chief executive highlighted the “excellent dialogue and collaboration” with the World Bank, the International Finance Corp. (IFC), and USAID, as well as other multilateral and development agencies involved in this effort.
OCP in February 2016 established OCP Africa, a new, fully-owned subsidiary aimed at helping to meet the challenge of creating structured, efficient, and sustainable agriculture in Africa (GM Feb. 26, 2016).
The group has since established a number of joint ventures, many of them including plans and projects for the development of production units in several sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria and Ethiopia.